The income limit for stimulus checks, or eligibility for a third stimulus check, determines who is and is not eligible to receive direct payments from the government.

For a while, it appeared that $75,000 in income would remain the eligibility criteria for stimulus checks. However, legislators from both parties proposed alternatives to the income limit for the stimulus package, changing who might be eligible for the next round of payments.

According to President Joe Biden's latest plan, single households with incomes up to $75,000 and joint households with incomes up to $150,000 would be eligible to receive the full $1,400 or $2,800, respectively.

While the president, who has just taken office, will be the final signer of the next stimulus bill, members of Congress may make their own proposals and amendments to the direct payment portion. Even Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has proposed an income limit of $60,000 for the third stimulus check.

In an interview with CNN's Jake Tapper (via The Hill), Treasury Secretary Yellen said that the White House is negotiating with Congress "to define what is fair" regarding eligibility for the third stimulus check.

This comes after Senator Joe Manchin (D-MD) called for a $50,000 annual stimulus income limit. According to Forbes magazine, Manchin's proposed threshold is $25,000 per year lower than the thresholds of the first two stimulus packages.

Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders (D-MD) called income limit proposals like Manchin's "unbelievable." In a tweet, the new chairman of the Senate Budget Committee appeared to oppose lowering the eligibility threshold.

As it stands, several senators are trying to pass President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion package as is, using a budget process that allows spending measures related to the stimulus package to pass with a simple majority vote.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi issued a statement last week (via the Washington Post) that she hopes to pass the existing plan by the end of February. This would put the timetable for a third stimulus check in March, one year after the start of the pandemic.